My new Grizzly track saw arrived

[david brum]

Just got it last night. The saw arrived ahead of the track, so I haven't had a chance to try it yet. A Grizzly email said they shipped the same day, so I will probably get the track today. I also ordered an accessory kit which shipped on Monday. These things have been on backorder since they first advertised them in January, so it's a relief to actually be getting them. For those interested, I'll post a few photos and comments after I try it out. I'm in the middle of a big project using 30 sheets of mdf slat wall, which makes a horrible mess when cut with my current circular saw and straight edge. I'm really hoping to see a big improvement in dust collection, cut quality, etc.

[David Nelson1]

Subscribed LOL Looking forward to your analysis Dave


Just got it last night. The saw arrived ahead of the track, so I haven't had a chance to try it yet. A Grizzly email said they shipped the same day, so I will probably get the track today. I also ordered an accessory kit which shipped on Monday. These things have been on backorder since they first advertised them in January, so it's a relief to actually be getting them. For those interested, I'll post a few photos and comments after I try it out. I'm in the middle of a big project using 30 sheets of mdf slat wall, which makes a horrible mess when cut with my current circular saw and straight edge. I'm really hoping to see a big improvement in dust collection, cut quality, etc.

[Vaughn Kaloust]

I got mine also! The saw came along with two tracks on Tuesday, and the accessory kit came today.

I have been playing with it, but quite frankly have been having some problems? Probably pilot error on my part, but I will give a little taste of what I have found so far.

The depth of cut control seems a little tricky. You loosen the knob, and then have to pull the stop itself out. It seems to have a knurled back that is tricky to move, at least from the deepest setting up.

The specs say the saw cutting depth with the track is 1 31/32 which is 1.969, but I have been trying to rip some 8/4 maple and can only get to a depth of 1.910 to 1.918. I am a little confused by this? I have bought a Diablo 6-1/2” blade that I hope will fit on the saw, but I am waiting for a 20mm to 5/8 bushing to arrive so I can test that.

The way the two tracks connect together with the single bar is quite sloppy, and will not do me any good the way it is. It also has some very shallow slotted screws to lock it down. I was expecting hex screws, and was surprised to see the slots. By the time I got to the end of my first cut of an 8’ piece, I had cut a “V” with about 1/8” of each far end out from straight.

The clamps work fine, but there was a severe bump in the road when the front of the saw tried to go from the first track to the second. This seems to be affected by the flatness of the surface on which the tracks are sitting. Forgetting that this was a plunge saw, I tried to just lift the saw over the small transition. Needless to say, that didn’t work.

Since I am new to the saw, I will believe mostly that I will work through any small problems I am having now. But I do hope that a 9’ single piece track is offered in the future, because I bought this mostly to get a straight edge on rough lumber, and unless I can successfully adjust the tracks the way they are now, I just do not think they will do what I need.

[david brum]

The depth of cut control seems a little tricky. You loosen the knob, and then have to pull the stop itself out. It seems to have a knurled back that is tricky to move, at least from the deepest setting up.

Yeah. I had a chance to play around with my saw today. I had to remove the whole depth setting thingy (unscrews from behind the blade) and sand down the nut to make it run smoothly when setting depth. It works great now, but I shouldn't have had to do this....



The specs say the saw cutting depth with the track is 1 31/32 which is 1.969, but I have been trying to rip some 8/4 maple and can only get to a depth of 1.910 to 1.918. I am a little confused by this? I have bought a Diablo 6-1/2” blade that I hope will fit on the saw, but I am waiting for a 20mm to 5/8 bushing to arrive so I can test that.

That's another "gotcha". The blade depth scale seem to refer to the depth you'd get without the track. In other words, you have to add the thickness of the track to the depth you want when setting the depth stop. Really?

On the 6 1/2" blade, I'm going to try the same thing. The blade that came with my saw leaves a lot to be desired. It looks and cuts about like I'd expect from a generic, Chinese blade. I can buy better blades for these saws from Freud, Forrest, Festool, etc but they aren't cheap and that defeats the purpose of having a budget track saw. I have read about some people standard circular saw blades and re-boring the holes. I plan to try this with a Diablo thin kerf blade.

Regarding your comment about a 5/8" to 20mm bushing, you would be going the wrong direction. The track saw wants a 20mm ( about 3/4") hole, whereas the standard circular saw blade has a 5/8" hole.

I have just gotten my two tracks but no accessory kit yet. I was hoping that the joining bar would work better than you describe. It looks like there is room for two, so maybe a second one will work better?

[Vaughn Kaloust]

Hi Dave,

I am almost glad to hear you are finding the same issues with your saw. I will try your mod for the depth stop tomorrow.

I have a mill, so I will try to make two new tight tolerance bars to replace what is there now. Hope that solves the problem, but like you said, we should not have to make these mods at all.

I will also try to open up the hole on the Diablo to 20mm, because you are right, I am going the wrong way! (would not be the first time, lol) :rolleyes:

I did find the saw working very hard, and a lot of burn marks on my cuts. I did not want to blame the saw until I got another blade in it. I was also not sure I was doing everything right. But you seem to be having the same issues. I am guessing it’s the blade, or I hope it is anyway.

The 1-31/32 depth I was referring to is from the spec sheet on the Grizzly site using the track. It is over 2" without the track. On my cuts, I am about 30 thousands of cutting all the way through, and I really need this to work. I hope there is a solution.

Looking forward to other issues you come across.

[Curt Harms]

The way the two tracks connect together with the single bar is quite sloppy, and will not do me any good the way it is. It also has some very shallow slotted screws to lock it down. I was expecting hex screws, and was surprised to see the slots. By the time I got to the end of my first cut of an 8’ piece, I had cut a “V” with about 1/8” of each far end out from straight.


Of all the issues mentioned, this would be the biggest one for me. I can do better than that with a shop made guide.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I was hoping that the joining bar would work better than you describe. It looks like there is room for two, so maybe a second one will work better?I just looked at the picture in the other thread & it looks like two bars will fit - just like the Festool.
I've never used my Festool with a single connector so I can't say for sure how it would act.
I do know that with both connectors, the tracks are aligned perfectly and stay that way.

The slotted heads work fine - matter of fact, I believe they work better than hex heads.
W/hex heads, it would be too easy to over tighten. The screws just go in a little more than snug.

[Vaughn Kaloust]

I bought a new Festool track bar for the Grizzly track today. It was a much tighter fit, and now with two bars installed, they seemed to solve all the alignment problems. The track rails are now set straight, and look like they will stay that way.

The slightly undersized depth of cut I mentioned before was caused by the spring guide which had slipped out of it's place in the saws base plate, and was preventing the plunge to full depth. Once I got that correctly back it place, the cut went to the proper depth. Also, I think this must have been a problem with the saw when it arrived, because an annoying loud sound came from the spring about half way through a plunge, and the saw would also jerk downward. Both problems went away after I got the plastic spring guide back into its proper place.

I also bought a Festool Panther blade for ripping. This completely fixed all the burning, poor quality cuts, and additional force needed to make the cuts. I ripped 200' of 8/4 soft maple today, and all the cuts were great. The original blade appears to be terrible, for ripping at least.

For now, I am very satisfied with the saws performance. Now, I have nothing to really compare it to, as I have never used a track saw before, but I am very impressed with its capabilities and performance based on today's use. Plus, I know I am pushing it to the outside of its envelope by ripping so much think stock.